June 17, 2013 10:45 PM CDTJune 17, 2013 10:48 PM CDTCarlton: With four major hires in past 12 months, Kirby Hocutt has made his mark on Texas Tech

Carlton: With four major hires in past 12 months, Kirby Hocutt has made his mark on Texas Tech

4/9

Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer

OUT: Chris Walker, men's basketball -- After the disaster that was Billy Gillispie's tenure at Tech, Walker stepped in as the basketball team's head coach on an interim basis. Despite an 11-20 overall record and a 3-15 conference mark, Walker actually improved the team across the board from their 2011-12 numbers. It wasn't enough to earn him the full-time gig, but Hocutt praised Walker even in his departure, saying "There is nothing more he could have done."

As an athletic
director, Kirby Hocutt never believed that he automatically needed his own
people in key positions.

It’s just worked out that way at Texas Tech.
In a 12-month span, circumstances have allowed Hocutt to replace four key
coaching positions — football, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball.

“Here he is getting tested all at once,” said Oklahoma athletic
director Joe Castiglione, a friend and sounding board. “We don’t get to pick
how and when certain things happen in our world. We prepare the best we can for
those days when they come.”

Regardless of what happens now, Hocutt’s stamp
on the athletic department is undeniable after coming aboard in February 2011.

Everything began with the promotion of
assistant Tim Tadlock on June 8, 2012 to replace fired baseball coach Dan
Spencer. Tadlock is also the only one of the four to have actually coached this
season, going 26-30 overall and 9-15 in the Big 12.

In December, Hocutt provided the signature
moment, with the rock-star hire of Kliff Kingsbury to replace Tommy Tuberville,
who had exited for Cincinnati.
Kingsbury has been everything that Tuberville wasn’t — a feel-good addition for
a fan base that needed something positive as a rallying point.

“There’s been so much passion and enthusiasm
for the program since Kliff Kingsbury was hired,” Hocutt said. “It might be one
of those experiences and opportunities that come along once in a lifetime.”

Tubby Smith, who won an NCAA title at Kentucky and took Minnesota
to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 before being fired, was tabbed to heal a men’s
program scarred by the Billy Gillispie meltdown. Gillispie had been Hocutt’s
first coaching hire, a high-risk gamble without a high reward.

Smith, the only hire of the four who isn’t a
Texas Tech alum, brought the skill set Hocutt thought Tech needed now.

“Continuity and stability,” Hocutt said.
“That’s not something we’ve had in our basketball program recently. He brings
that experience, wisdom and steady hand we so desperately need.”

Bottom line: The drama with Smith will not
extend beyond the court.

The final hire came last month, when women’s
basketball coach Kristy Curry left for Alabama
after seven years and no NCAA victories. Candace Whitaker, an Oklahoma State
assistant and direct connection to the Marsha Sharp era, was a popular
replacement.

Yes, Hocutt acknowledged consulting with Sharp
and also calling upon former AD Gerald Myers during the four hires.

“I have tremendous resources,” Hocutt said.
“Gerald’s office is 30 feet to the east of mine. Marsha’s is 50 feet to the
west.”

Hocutt wasn’t short on ideas either.

He wants Tech to be among the top athletic
departments in the country and contend for Big 12 titles. Kansas State,
where Hocutt played linebacker, showed it was possible to compete without a
mammoth budget, winning Big 12 regular-season titles this school year in
football, men’s basketball and baseball.

Wins are less important than continuous
improvement, Hocutt said.

Asked what he learned during the process, he
paused for the only time in the 35-minute phone interview.

“You want individuals and leaders who share
your values, who share your drive to be successful, and individuals that you
can trust and individuals that you would entrust your children to. If your son
or daughter was considering a school, you would want your child to come and
play for that coach.

“That’s how I feel with all these hires.”

Follow Chuck Carlton on Twitter at ChuckCarltonDMN

New blood

A look at the football, basketball and baseball coaches hired by
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt over the last 12 months:

New coach , Sport , Hire date , Replaced

Tim Tadlock , Baseball , June 8, 2012 , Dan Spencer

Former Texas Tech
assistant promoted to head coach. Started two years (1990-91) at
shortstop.

Kliff Kingsbury , Football , Dec. 12, 2012 , Tommy Tuberville

Former offensive
coordinator at Texas A&M. Texas Tech’s second all-time leading passer.

Tubby Smith , Men’s basketball , April 1, 2013 , Chris Walker

Former Minnesota head coach.
Won national championship as head coach of Kentucky (1998).

Candace Whitaker , Women’s basketball , May 20, 2013 , Kristy Curry

Former assistant at
Oklahoma State As point guard, led Tech to Sweet 16 appearances in 2001 and
’02.

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